Corn-harvester



S'Sheets-Sheet 1.

Patented Oct. l, 1889.

G. B. 85 J T. SNOW.

CORN HARVESTER.

(No Model.)

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(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 2. G. B. 8v J. T. SNGW.

CORN HARVESTER.

No. 412,209. Patented Oct. 1, 1889.

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(No ModeL) 3 Sheets-Sheet 3. G. B. 8v J. T. SNOW.

CORN HARVESTER.

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(lll/BERT li. SNO'Wv AND JAMES T. SNOV, OF SUGAR GROVE, ILLlNOlS.

CORN-HARVESTER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 412,209, dated October l, 1889.

Application filcd October 17, 1888. Serial No. 288,394. (No model.)

To a-ZZ whom it iat-ay concern:

Be it known that We, GILBERT B. SNOW and JAMES T. SNOW,citizens of the United States, residing at Sugar Grove, in the county of Kane and State of Illinois, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Corn- Harvesters, which is fully set forth in the following specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in Which- Figure l is a detail plan view of a portion of a machine embodying our invention; Fig. "7, a rear elevation of a port-ion of said machine; Fig. 3, a detail sectional View taken on the line l l of Fig. l; Fig. 4, a detail sectional view taken on the line :l 2 of Fig. l; Fig. 5, a detail side elevation of a portion of the mechanism which operates the bundledischarger; Fig. 6, a detail plan View of one of the carrying-chains and the adjacent parts; Fig. 7,a side elevation of the same, viewed from the inner side; Fig. S, a similar view of the carrying-chain, shield, or guard, detached; Fig. il, a sectional view of the bundle-discharger; Fig. l0, a plan view of a portion thereof 5 Fig. ll, a sectional view taken on the line 3 3 of Fig. 7; Fig. 12, an enlarged plan view of the butt-evcner and its associated mechanism, and Fig. '13 an enlarged sectional view taken on the line 4:4, of Fig. 1.

Like letters refer to like parts in all the figures of the drawings.

Our invention relates to corn-harvesters, and is in the nature of an improvement upon the invention set forth in Let-ters Patent No. 385,286, granted to us June 26, 1888, its object being to provide various improvements and alterations in the construction of said machine, whereby its operation will be rendered more effective.

To these ends our invention consists in certain novel features, Which We Willnow proceed to describe, and will then particularly point out in the claims. l

ln describing our present improvements We shall only refer to and show such parts of the machine as are necessary to a proper un derstanding of their construction and operation, and it will be understood that the machine, so far as the main features of its construction are concerned, is identical with that set forth in our prior Letters Patent, hereinbefore referred to.

In the drawings, A represents the main frame, and A the driving-Wheel.

A2 represents a shaft driven from the driving-Wheel and' provided with a crank-Wheel a, to which is connected a pitman a', to drive the cutter.

B represents the cutter-har, to which the knives B are secured in any suitable manner. The cutter-bar is provided at a point above each knife with a suitable rib or proj ection V79, which extends over a portion of the top of the knife and serves to strengthen the same. The stationary guards B2 are arranged underneath the knives. ln our prior patent, hereinbe'forc referred to, these guards are shown as constructed of greater length than the knives, and consequently projecting forward of the same. In practice We have found that owing to this construction the stalks are liable to catch upon the points of the guards and thereby clog the machine. In order to overcome this difficulty, We make the guards l32 of less length than the knives B', so that the guards do not project beyond the said knives, as clearly shown in Figs. l and 3 of the drawings. This construction renders it impossible for the stalks to catch upon the ends of the guards, since, even if they do so during the short. .time that the guards are not covered bythe knives, the lateral motion of these latter Will displace them immediately and bring them int-o proper position for cutting'.

C represents the deck. In ourprior Letters Patent, hereinbefore referred to, this deck is shown as constructed on a single continuous incline extending across the rear of the machine from the cutter to the binding 1nechan ism. In its improved form this deck is constructed in three sect-ions, to Wit: a horizon` tal section c in the rear of the cutter, an inclined section c', adjacent thereto and extending upward to the binder, and a second horizontal section c2, located at the binder and forming the binder-deck. By reason of this construction horizontal surfaces are provided, upon which the stalks may fall as they come from the cutter and upon which the stalks may lie and be held firmly during the operation of binding. Moreover, this horizontal position of the binder-deck serves to overcome a difficulty which exists when this deck IOO is inclined upward-to wit, the tendency of the butt-end of the bundle to drag during its discharge from the deck-thereby displacing the same and rendering the operation of the discharge-fingers ineffectual. This difficulty is of course overcome when the deck is horizontal.

D represents the transverse shield in front of the deck, and E the butt-evener arranged parallel to said shield. This butt-evener consists of an upright board or plate of suitable shape, provided with vertical slats or ribs e to engage with the butts of the stalks. To its front side is attached an arm e which is pivotally connected to a crank E on a verti-V cal shaft E2. This vertical shaft is provided at its lower end with a bevel-gear e2, which meshes with a corresponding gear e3 on a short horizontal shaft E3. The shafts E2 and E3 are supported by means of a suitable bracket E4, attached to the main frame A.

A3 represents a shaft parallel to the shaft A2 and driven therefrom by a sprocketchain a3, which passes over a sprocket-wheel a2 on the shaft A2, and over a similar wheel a on the shaft A3. The shaft A3 is provided with a second sprocketewheel a5, over which and over a sprocket-wheel c4 on the shaft E3 a sprocketchain A4 passes, rotating this shaft A3 constantly. This shaft, like the corresponding one in our patent above referred to, drives the binder, which, as in the other case, may be of any preferred construction, the Appleby type, however, being the one intended to be represented in the drawings. This type of binder being now so well known, I have not deemed it necessary to show it herein in detail, nor does it seem necessary to describe it further than to state its con nection with the shaft A3. This shaft A3 is provided with the usual pinion adapted to drive the binder-train, the pinion being connected to the shaft in the ordinary manner, the clutch used for that purpose being the same as that shown herein to start the ejector. This clutch is operated, generally, by the com'- pressor through the pressure of the bundle thereagainst; but it may be actuated by a separate trip. By this means power is transmitted to the shaft E2 to rotate the same.

E5 indicates an arm attached to the front of the butt-evener E, and having pivoted to it one end of a guide-rod D', the other end of which passes loosely through a bearing or guide d, pivoted in a bracket d', attached to the front of the shield D. A link e5, one end of which is pivoted to the arm E5, has its other end suitably pivoted to a fixed support on the framing A, this latter connection being ad'- justable through the medium of a series of perforations in said link.

The hutt-evener thus constructed operates in the following manner: It first moves outlward sufficiently to strike the butts of the stalks and even the same properly, and then moves to the right in Fig. l along with the stalks as they are carried up the incline c.

It is then withdrawn forward, so as to clear l the butts and return to its original position, when it is ready for anotherV stroke. The stroke may be readily adjusted through the medium of the link e5.

E represents the bundlediseharger, secured to the rock-shaft G, and consisting of an arm j", connected to said rock-shaft and provided at its end with a transverse bar E', to which the bundle-receiving cradle is attached. This cradle consists of separate fingers F2, each composed of two side plates f3, bolted to the bar E .and having between them a yielding guard F3, provided at its upper end with an upwardly-projecting iinger f4, and pivoted at its lower end at f5 between the plates f3. A spring f is attached to this yielding guard and extends rearward through a staple f2 on the cross-bar E. This spring serves to press the yielding guard F3 normally outward in the position shown. Being secured at its rear end by the staple F2, the spring will buckle or curve when the guard is forced toward the cross-bar, and when the pressure is removed it will assume the straight position shown, and thereby return the guard to its normal position. This guard serves when the bundle-discharger returns to its normal position to crowd back any stalks or ears which may project beyond the deck toward the discharger, and the yielding of the guard is obviously advantageous to prevent any locking of the parts and to permit the discharger to descend down to the position shown in the drawings or on a level with the deck. The post g, in which the rock-shaft G has its bearing, is provided with a spring G', the free end of which is in turn provided with a forwardprojecting screw g', against which the arm f strikes at the end of its outward movement. The purpose of this spring is to accelerate the return of the bundle-discharger, which during its outward movement forces the said spring outward along with it. As soon, however, as the actuating mechanism is in position to permit the return of the bundle-discharger, this spring forces the same inward and causes it to return much more quickly. The screw g may be adjusted in the spring G', so as to project to a greater or less extent, and thereby regulate the action of said spring in an obvious manner.

H represents an arch extending over lthe main wheel A and the adjacent mechanism, the inner part h of said arch being constructed upon a curve substantially parallel to the curve of `motion of the bundle-discharger, while the outer part h forms an ineline from the highest point of said arch downward toward the side of the machine, said arch being preferably composed of a frame of rods covered with sheet metal. To the inner curved part h of said arch is attached a curved spring lH', provided at'its free end with a downwardly-bent arm h2, which extends down through the arch. As t-he bundle is carried upward and outward by IOO IIO

IIS

the discharger, it compresses this spring Il until the latter lies tlat upon the arch; but as soon as the bundle has passed clear of. the end of said spring its elasticity forces it ou't ward, and the do wnwardly-bent arm 72.2 thereof acts as a cut-ott to prevent any of t-he stalks from being carried back by the bnndle-discharger on its return to its first pcsi tion.

I represents the stop-arm, which controls the mechalnism by which the bundle-discharger isperated, and i the rod by which said stop-arm is actuated. In our Letters Patent hereinbefore mentioned this latter rod is connected to a trip-arm, which is struck by the bundle as it leaves the binder. In our present construction the rod i is connected to a crank-arm i on a shaft I, the other end of which is provided with acrankarm ft2, which is connected by a link I2 to the crank-arm I3 on the rock-shaft Il, which operates the usual compressors F ot' this type of binding mechanism. It will thus be seen that the stop-arm I in the present construction is positively actuated by the bin deritself instead of by the bundle, and great surety of opera-tion is thereby obtained.

In order to retain the stalks straight upon the bindendeck during the time when the bundle is being' first formed and prevent them from swinging around or off the deck, I employ a series of yielding or spring arms I. These arms are attached at their lower ends to the rock-shaft IAl on each side of the compressor and extend upward therefrom, as shown in Figs. l and 2, above the deck C, and when the bundle is formed and ready to be discharged they drop along with the cour pressors i, being attached to the rock-shaft which operates these compressors. They return to their upright position as soon as the bundle-discharger has started upon its upward travel, and, being spring-arms capable of yielding, they will notinterfere with the working ot the other parts in case they should happen to come in contact with them during this return movement.

J represents one of the carrying-chains which pass upward and rearward over suitable sprocket-wheels j, j', and j?, and then return forward and downward from the sprocket-wheel to the sprocket-wheel j. This chain is provided with right-angled pivoted dogs J', which during their upward and rearward motion are held with their arms in position to engage the stalks by means of suitable guides J2. This construction and operation are fully shown and described in our priorpatent. During their return or forward movement these dogs have hithertov been allowed to swing freely, and we have found that they are liable to become entangled with the stalks. In order to prevent this, we have devised the guard or shield K, which is arranged inside of the lower portion of the said carrying-chain, between it and the stalks, and which not only prevents conn tact between the carrying-chains and the stalks along that portion ot` the chain which is moving forward, but also holds the dogs firmly in posit-ion with their arms pointed away from the stalks. Each guard K is provided at its rear upper end with a spring lr, arranged in the path ot the inwardly-projecting arms of the dogs J', and immediately adjacent to the sprocket wheel As the sprocket-chain J passes over this wheel, the projecting arm ot each dog will strike upon the spring k, and will be turned into position to bear against the guard K, as shown in the drawings. The spring acts in an obvious manner as a cushion to prevent the shock which would occur if the dogs struck directly against the unyielding guard l.

Having thus described our inventiomwhat we claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, isF

l. In a corn-harvester, the combination, with the stationary guards Bof the reciprocating cuttingknives B', arranged above said guards and extending forward of the same, substantially as and for the purposes specilied.

2. In a corn-harvester, the combination,

with the cutting and binding mechanism, of the vertically-swinging bun die-discharger arranged at the stubble side of the binding. mechanism and provided with guards extending downward from its inner end, substantially as and for the purposes specified. In a corn-harvester, the combination, with the cutting and binding mechanism, of the vertically-swingin g bundle-discharger arranged at the stubble side of the binding mechanism and provided with iingcrs, each having a yielding guard, and a suitable spring to press the guard outward, substantially as and for the purposes specified.

t. In a corn-harvester, the combination, with the arm f an d cross-bar Il", of the fingers F2, each composed of side plates f3, attached to said crossbar, guard F3, pivoted between said plates, and spring f interposed between said guard and cross-bar, substantially as and for the purposes specified.

5. In a corn-harvester, the combination, with the binder, of the vertically-swinging bundle-discharger, its operating mechanism, and a trip for throwing said mechanism int-o connection, substantially as described, and a connection between the binder and said trip, whereby the latter is operated by the binder to start the bundle-discharger, substantially as and for the purposes specified.

G. In a corn-harvester, the combination, with the bundledischarger and its operating mechanism, of the stop-arm I, controlling the same, the rod 2', connected thereto, the shaft I', having crank-arms -z'f and '122, the former connected to the rod t', the rock-shaft I4, carrying crank-arm I3, and the link I2, connecting said crank-arm and the crank-arm 2, substantially as and for the purposes speciiied.

7. In a corn-harvester, 'the combination,

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- pivotally connected to the butt-evener and its other end adjustably pivoted to a suitable fixed support, substantially as and for the purposes specified 8. In a corn -harvester, the combination, with the gathering and carrying' chains, arranged in vertical planes, and their pivoted dogs, of the shield K, arranged on the inner side of-each chain along the forward-moving portion thereof, substantially as and for the purposes specified.

9. In a corn harvester, the combination, with the main wheel and the bundle-discharger swinging over the same, ot' the arch H, arranged over the Wheel and having the inner part h curved to conform to the curved motion of the discharger, an ou ter part h',in clined downward and outward, and a curved spring I-I, attached at its lower end to the curved portion h of the arch and provided at its upper end with the downwardly-bent arm ubstantially as and for the purposes specil0. In a corn-harvester, the combination, with the vertically swinging bundle discharger and its operating mechanism, of a spring arranged in the path of said bundledischarger near the outer limit of its motion and adapted to engage with the same and assist its return, substantially as and for the purposes specified.

. 11. The combination, with the verticallyswinging bundle-discharger F, having arm f, of the spring G', attached to a suitable support and provided with an adjustable screwr g', arranged in the path of the said arm near the outer limit of its motion, substantially as and for the purposes speciiied.

12. In a corn-harvester, the combination, with the binding mechanism and the Vertically-swinging bundle-discharger arranged at the delivery side thereof, of yielding arms projecting above the binding-deck on each side of the compressor and between thelatter and the needle-shaft, substantially as and for the purposes specified.

13. In ahorn-harvester, the combination, with the vertically swinging bundle discharger and the binding mechanism provided with the rock-shaft I4, which operates the compressors, of the arms I5, attached to said rock-shaft and projecting normally upward above the deck on each side of the compressor and between it and the needle-shaft, substantially as and for the purposes specified.

14. In a cornharvester, the combination, with the gathering and carrying chains and their pivoted dogs, of the shield K, arranged on the inner side of each chain along the forwardmoving portion thereof and provided at its rear upper end with a cushioning-spring k, against which the dogs strike at the beginning ot' their forward motion, substantially as and tor the purposes specified.

GILBERT B. SNOW.

JAMES T. SNOlV.

Witnesses:

ERAM OWENS, WILL T. GORDON. 

